We have tragic news to report from the world of music today.
Grammy-nominated opera singer Jubilant Sykes was found stabbed to death inside his home in Santa Monica on Monday.
He was 71 years old.
Opera singer’s son arrested in connection with his death
Police arrived on the scene after receiving a 911 call from Sykes’ wife shortly after 9 pm on Monday night.
According to Lt. Lewis Gilmour of the Santa Monica Police Department, officers arrived to find Sykes suffering from “significant injuries.”
Members of the Santa Monica Fire Department performed CPR, but the injuries proved too severe.
Sykes was pronounced dead on the scene, and his 31-year-old son, Micah Sykes, was arrested.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe this was an isolated incident contained within the household,” Gilmour said, according to the New York Post.
Sykes was nominated for a Best Classical Album Grammy in 2010.
Over the course of his iconic career, he performed at some of the world’s best-known venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Kennedy Center.
A longtime neighbor who was living in a rental property owned by Jubilant alleged that Micah Sykes had a history or erratic behavior.
“It’s just devastating. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. He was a little weird,” the neighbor said of the son, who was living at home with his parents in the years leading up to the alleged attack.
“I had been warned that something like he was on drugs, but it was more like something mentally was not there,” the neighbor added (via the Post).
“He was laying right there on the ground one night, sleeping,” the neighbor continued, indicating the street near Sykes’ home. “Like something — something was not right. But he [Jubliant] even warned me about it.”
Micah Sykes is currently in police custody, but the charges against him have not yet been revealed.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Our thoughts go out to Jubilant Sykes’ loved ones during this enormously difficult time.